Women in Poland have gone on strike in protest to proposed laws that would make abortion basically illegal. Legislators have proposed eliminating the country’s existing exceptions on abortion (in cases of rape or incest, or if the woman’s or fetus’ life is in danger), and making getting an abortion punishable by five years in prison.
Today, throughout Poland, women are striking from work and house care and taking to the streets dressed in black. Women in cities like Berlin, Edinburgh, and Kiev are also dressing in black, marching, and tweeting in solidarity.
TODAY: Polish women on strike✌#BlackProtest #BlackMonday #Poland pic.twitter.com/C3v5EF1qnd
— 𝒜 𝓃 𝓃 ℯ ℳ 𝒶 𝓇 𝒾 ℯ (@AnneMalecka) October 3, 2016
https://twitter.com/mattomaszewski/status/782908216124567552
#CzarnyProtest in Katowice, right now.#BlackMonday pic.twitter.com/1rQUIAMulw
— lia (@beychalamet) October 3, 2016
Women in Ukraine protest at Poland embassy in Kyiv in solidarity with #CzarnyProtest
— вареничок.eristavi 🇺🇦🏳️🌈 (@maksymeristavi) October 3, 2016
pics by @HromadskeUA pic.twitter.com/yfl4mgF5cY
Outside PiS office. It's funny cuz inside Jarek is asking the exact same thing 😃😃😃 #CzarnyProtest via @PStrzalkowski pic.twitter.com/cAg4ywz2rb
— Exen 🇵🇱 (@Exen) October 3, 2016
According to Radio Poland, the proposed legislation was launched by a citizens initiative called Stop Abortion and has already passed one hurdle in parliament. If passed, the laws would be among the most restrictive in Europe.
“They want to introduce an anti-abortion law which will mean in many cases, women will be sentenced to death. It will take away the sense of security they have, the treatment options available when pregnancy puts their lives or health in danger,” one protester told the BBC.
https://twitter.com/AlicjaPawluczuk/status/782935973692841984
My się nie zgadzamy! #CzarnyProtest #blackprotest pic.twitter.com/vcD1CRxENp
— Harriet (@natural_dancer) October 3, 2016
#blackprotest #CzarnyProtest pic.twitter.com/wnf2FMXuBX
— cosmopolla (@cosmopolla) October 3, 2016
In 2010, Reuters reported that Polish women were increasingly seeking abortions abroad, and that illegal abortions were incredibly common in the country. These proposed laws would likely make both of those practices all the more common.
And lest you think this is something that could only happen in a Catholic country, the laws Mike Pence passed in Indiana (which resulted in Purvi Patel being sentenced to 20 years in prison for a miscarriage) are nearly as restrictive.